Biden threatens Putin with personal sanctions in the event of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine
US President Joe Biden has said he will consider personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, if Russia invades Ukraine. The rare sanctions threat came as Nato placed forces on standby and reinforced eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response to Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine's border.
The Guardian reports.
Biden said that if Russia attacked, it would be the "largest invasion since World War II" and it would "change the world". The president said he would consider adding direct sanctions on Putin to a raft of measures being drawn up.
"Yes. I would see that", - Biden said when asked about possible sanctions against Putin.
The President of the United States also outlined economic sanctions "with massive consequences" that go beyond previous measures, introduced in 2014 after Russia invaded Ukrainian Crimea.
What is known
- Russia denies plans to attack and says NATO and the United States are at the root of the crisis. The Kremlin is demanding security guarantees from the West, including a promise by NATO to never accept Ukraine into its ranks.
- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated the right of Georgia and Ukraine to choose their own allies and stressed that the alliance would monitor the situation in Ukraine.
- The US has helped prepare for the diversion of natural gas supplies from around the world to Europe if the flow from Russia is cut, to blunt Putin’s most powerful economic weapon.
- On January 25, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the North Atlantic Alliance would not deploy its troops in Ukraine amid growing Russian aggression.
- The Guardian reports, citing British intelligence sources, that there are currently about 175,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian border, and that Russia is considering three scenarios for a military offensive.
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